piracy

ADF STAFF The Ghana Navy in September received two Defender patrol boats that will enhance its capacity to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, piracy, armed robbery at sea and other…

ADF STAFF Some analysts worried that Somali pirates were staging a comeback when a Maltese-flagged merchant ship, the Ruen, was hijacked off the coast of Somalia in December 2023, marking the first successful attack on such a ship in the…

ADF STAFF Once among the world’s hotspots for piracy and trafficking, the Gulf of Guinea still presents a security challenge for the Economic Community of West African States. The West African regional bloc, also known as ECOWAS, includes…

ADF STAFF Sea crimes are a constant threat to coastal countries. Pirate attacks are increasing off the coast of Somalia. The Gulf of Guinea remains the world’s epicenter of illegal fishing. Other crimes, including oil theft, drug…

ADF STAFF Kenya has reaffirmed its commitment to help prosecute suspected pirates and other sea criminals amid roiling insecurity sparked by a recent surge in Somali pirate attacks and Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Kenya will prosecute pirates…

ADF STAFF Gun-wielding pirates in two small boats attacked a Liberian-flagged cargo ship, the Basilisk, as it sailed about 380 nautical miles east of Somalia on May 23. Pirates fled as the Spanish warship Canarias responded. Canarias…

ADF STAFF The Topaz, a Seychelles Coast Guard vessel, abruptly altered its direction in January when it was alerted to a Somali pirate attack on a Sri Lankan fishing trawler just outside the Seychelles exclusive economic zone. The…

ADF STAFF In August 2023, armed pirates took control of a fishing vessel just outside Sierra Leone’s port. The attack set off a quick response that brought together Sierra Leonean, Liberian and Ivoirian coast guards determined to catch the…

ADF STAFF The Ghana Armed Forces in March participated in Exercise Sea Lion 2024, a timely weeklong maritime security exercise designed to sharpen the nation’s maritime security skills. Ghana’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt. Gen.…

ADF STAFF Increasing attacks by Somali pirates are exacerbating global shipping and fueling maritime insecurity around East Africa. After a six-year lull in major pirate attacks, there have been more than 20 attempted hijackings since…